Tag Archives: Privacy

Engadget reports that Harvard student Aran Khanna, who was about to begin an internship at Facebook, had that internship yanked after he created (and took down, but evidently too slowly for the company’s taste) a browser plug-in that exposed a security flaw in Facebook, by allowing users to discover the location of other users when they use the Messenger app. Surely Khanna won’t be jobless or internship-less for long. (Don’t expect the app to work now; it’s still in the Chrome store as a historical artifact, though, and at GitHub.)

Children have no choice. Katherine discusses the San Antonio school district plan to give all students “the chip” so that they can be tracked throughout the day. They are starting with the school with the lowest number of native English speakers.

If you have a Facebook, Twitter, or any other social networking account, can you be asked for you account and its password? Short answer, YES they can ask but you do not have to give it up…I imagine that depends upon how badly you need the job, also. This does seem to be the big rave on the news, other than the Obama-Care challenge.

There is software that companies tend to use to sift through the internet to find out if anyone is talking bad about their company AND people have been fired for talking bad about the company that they worked for (note the operative term “worked”). You have an obligation to not denigrate the company you work for and many of them have policies that reflect such a thing. If you cross the line you should be held accountable…if only it were a perfect world where everyone was held to the same standard! But anyway…

You have a right to privacy and there are certain lines that should not be crossed. While on Facebook, I had posted the article “Should Companies be allowed to ask for your Facebook Password?” by Tuan C. Nguyen. Someone answered with a comment essentially saying that if a company did ask for my password I could not work for them because they acting unethically (they want their passwords to be secure, but want yours?) and it would be a security violation of password sharing which is frowned upon in the IT community. And he is definitely right…one of the first things you are taught is security & protection.

This segment is not actually Radio Frequency ID, but it is a related issue. People are so hell bent on convenience that they, more often than not, fail to think of the long term and devastating possibilities.

Now you will be able to pay by using the smart technology within your phone. there are, and will be more, applications granting access to your banking institutions to pay for your purchases. Many of the loyalty card programs are looking into similar technology for purchase discounts.

What exactly are the ramifications for this in your life? How secure is your phone and the signal it uses? Most people do not even pass-code their phones, because it is inconvenient. How inconvenient will it be when your account is wiped out? Now your phone will contain access to all your financial data, all of your purchasing data, purchasing habits (i.e., food, clothes, technology, etc.)

By pushing everyone to use credit & debit cards the banking industry is really striving toward a cashless society. In doing so, they are forcing everyone to make purchases with a flippant and cavalier approach and will cause much more debt spending in your life than if you were using cash. A study was done (I heard about it on the Katherine Albrect Show http://www.katherinealbrecht.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1) in which a study was done when cash money is being used to pay people tend to be more mindful on the expenditures; whereas, with the airline industry they are no longer taking cash on flights and you are forced to use credit card and you are more likely to spend more with its use. This is because most people do not want to spend such a small amount on a card and will be more flippant with its use.

It is already a well known fact that such technology can be used to monitor your actions, expenditures, and conversations. With the advent of many District Court decisions which permit police to do so without any warrants.

I am always concerned when privacy is concerned…it is not alright when the tech savvy peeping tom down the street does such things, but it is legal when the government does it????? hmmmmmm!